As we reported last year, plans are for the Roborace autonomous racing series to run in conjunction with Formula E, starting in the 2016-17 season. Last week, newly-appointed design chief Daniel Simon, who has a diverse background designing concept cars for both global automakers and Hollywood, released the first look at the driverless Roborace car.
 

The lack of a need for a driver's cockpit has dropped barriers and opened up design freedom, allowing Simon and his team to follow aerodynamics even more closely than on the typical race car. The result, dubbed the Robocar, looks like a streamliner-style fuselage with four massive nostril-fenders optimizing downforce. Those large intakes allow air to flow straight through the body work over top the open floor.

"It was important to us that we generate substantial downforce without unnecessary parts cluttering the car to maintain a clean and iconic look," Simon explains. "This is largely made possible by using the floor as the main aerodynamic device and we are currently developing active body parts that are more organic and seamless than solutions today."